Uranus, the Magician

from "The Planets"

by Gustav Holst, arr. by Nikk Pilato

Uranus is the sixth movement of Gustav Holst's "The Planets" suite, and is one rarely heard on the marching field, mostly because of it's use of 12/8 meter, displaced rhythms, and difficult key. In this case, Uranus is not the Roman mythological god, but rather the ruler of the astrological Aquarius. The quirky and frantic twin of Paul Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice, Uranus is arranged here for advanced bands with good instrumentation, and can be combined with other Nikk Nakks Music arrangements of movements from the suite to create a complete show of The Planets. This arrangement also contains an optional ending if desired after the final chord. It would be perfect as a closer to a show.

Gustav Holst was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (England) in 1874. He is most famous for his orchestral suite, "The Planets," but is also well-known for his two military suites for band (Suite in E-flat, Op. 28 No. 1, and Suite in F, Op. 28 No. 2), his Hammersmith, the St. Paul's Suite for string orchestra, and various smaller orchestral works. Holst was influenced by Hindy mysticism and spirituality, as well as astronomy and astrology, which led to his interest in composing a suite based around the supposed "personalities" ascribed to the planets in the book What Is A Horoscope? by Alan Leo. "The Planets" was composed in two stages, with Mars, Venus, and Jupiter coming first, and Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Mercury composed after a break to work on other pieces.

While Holst lived to see the discovery of Pluto, he chose not to add it to the suite. The companion piece Pluto, the Renewer, which is sometimes played with the full suite, was composed by Colin Matthews

For an audio sample (MIDI), please click  

Details

Catalog#: NN06-001
Duration: 3:00
Difficulty: Advanced-Difficult

Instrumentation:

Flute/Piccolo
Clarinet I-II-III
Alto Sax I-II
Tenor Sax
Trumpet I-II-III
Mellophone I-II
Tenor I-II-III (includes Trombone and Euphonium)
Basses
Mallets
Sideline Percussion

FULL SET: $100.00 (includes shipping)

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